View full sizeNike, Inc.Nike rolled out basketball star Kevin Durant's signature shoe, Nike Zoom KD IV, on the same day the Oregon-based company also rolled out a new and improved website. Only problem was that Durant did not have an NBA season in which to debut his new sneaker.

Instead, on that day, Durant was among the locked-out players who filed a class-action antitrust lawsuit against the league.

It was hardly the court action envisioned when the new shoe was a mere sketch on a drawing board at the Nike World Headquarters near Beaverton. But in this uncertain world of lockouts, lawsuits and labor strife, Nike and other NBA partners and sponsors have had to adapt to a changing landscape while hoping for the best.

In the case of Nike, the company has promoted its "Basketball Never Stops" slogan. The video-rich marketing campaign features several of its top players -- including Durant, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James -- in a kaleidoscope of basketball scenarios, none of which include an NBA arena. Recently, Nike and James teamed up for an appearance in London. The three players made appearances during the summer in China.

Nike is the dominant basketball sneaker brand, controlling about 95 percent of sales in the U.S. through Nike Basketball, Brand Jordan and Converse.

"Will that energy continue if the NBA lockout continues?" Nike Brand president Charlie Denson said to stock analysts and others in September. "I believe it will. Basketball never stops. It's truly becoming a global game. Between international leagues, national team play, the upcoming Olympics, the college game here in the U.S., we see basketball continuing to grow."

"Television is much less important to selling sneakers today than it was in 1999," during the last extended NBA work stoppage, Powell said. "Sneaker sales are much more influenced by the web today. Brands get more exposure for products on YouTube than they do on (ESPN) SportsCenter."

On the other hand, sales of NBA-licensed merchandise -- jerseys, T-shirts, hats, trinkets and the rest -- are expected to drop by at least a half, analysts say.

"That's where the lockout hurts," said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst with The NPD Group.

Total NBA product sales last year were about $3 billion, Powell said.

Adidas, which is about midway through an 11-year partnership as the league's official uniform and apparel supplier, had about $350 million in NBA-related clothing sales last year. Analysts say, however, that the biggest benefit for Adidas in its apparel deal is having its three-stripes logo on NBA warm-ups and shooting shirts and, as a result, visible to stadium and television audiences. In that regard, the season has been a total loss of the company, which keeps its North American headquarters in North Portland which is also where NBA uniforms are designed.

An Adidas spokeswoman noted only that the Germany-based company's latest quarterly earnings statement included growing sales of basketball footwear. A statement from Nike said, "like basketball fans everywhere, we look forward to the lockout being resolved."

Among the larger national economic impacts could be the loss of NBA games on national television -- primarily ESPN and Turner Broadcasting.

"The NBA gets close to $1 billion a year in rights fees from broadcasters," said Bryce Townsend, chief executive officer of GroupM ESP North America, a media-buying agency based in New York that works with brands that advertise on NBA games. In addition, each of the 30 NBA teams have negotiated separate deals with local broadcasting companies, such as the Blazers' deal with Comcast.

For now, neither broadcasting companies nor advertisers have felt the loss of the games, Townsend said. Advertising slots have already been purchased. And networks have been able to fulfill client expectations by placing ads with programming that attracts the demographics of an NBA game: college football, college basketball or the NFL.

It could depend on how soon NBA games return, but Townsend doubted that the league will feel residual impact with advertisers who may eventually spend advertising dollars elsewhere if the work stoppage drags on.

Look at the 1999 NBA lockout, he said. The delayed start to the season was quickly forgotten, he said, as fans focused on the court. It also didn't hurt that the New York Knicks, a major market team, made it to the Finals.

Like some who follow the negotiations, Townsend does not feel as confident in predicting a resolution as he used to.

"We keep very close track of it," he said of the negotiations. "A couple of weeks ago I felt very positive (about a settlement). That turned with the decertification discussion. When you get the courts involved, it's not a positive place."

Correction: The logo of Adidas, the official uniform and apparel provider for the NBA, does
not appear on NBA game uniforms, only on player warm-up outfits and shooting
shirts. A story in Monday's Oregonian was unclear about the extent of the Adidas
contract with the NBA.